Author: backpackingbill

Today we went to Bere Island. A short ferry ride from Castletownbere. The weather today is the best we have had. This day was truly a blessing. We hiked around about half the island.

First we went to the lighthouse on the north end of the island. These views alone were worth the trip to Ireland.

We next hiked to the ruins of a signal tower that was built at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. Again spectacular views.

At the signal tower were sheep (always sheep) and a horse that got really interested in Bob.

In the evening, after dinner, we went to a pub that had local amateur folk music. This experience was like something from a movie. Some of the old guys there were in tears during the old Irish ballads. We left early as we have a lot of miles to cover tomorrow.

This is a photo that Bob took that is especially good.

I am starting each day with a yoga routine. I believe this helped me yesterday so I will do it again today. Having had a good stretch in the morning makes me feel better through the day.

This was a tough day on the trail. The first part of the day was lot of uphill on marginal terrain, lots of rocks, slippery moss and deep mud. The hills seem to never end.

But it is beautiful. The people are great and the food good. Accomodations are really nice.

Fuchsias are native here and prolific. I recall that when my family moved to Eureka, California when I was a lad that fuchsias were also prolific. My mother gathered the berries that formed behind the flowers and made an exquisite jelly. Fuchsia jelly was a local item that I have not seen since.

Bob and I had dinner at a place called Murphy’s. It was great. Many establishments have the name Murphy’s here. When we first arrived we were told that that we had to wait until after 8 to get a table. So we went to MacCarthy’s Bar. It turns out that this is a place made famous by a book by the same name. We should go back and replicate the jacket cover of the book in a photo. We will need to find a nun drinking Guinness to be accurate, however.

This morning we start walking. The weather report is for a mostly cloudy but dry day. Would you believe it, Bob and I chose the same hiking shoes. I believe we were both influenced by Billy Baker. Billy uses this shoe for the Tahoe 200.

This is truly a beautiful part of the world. The people are friendly, the food is good, the weather can be a challenge. Today we had a couple hours of rain and wind. The mist hid some of the great views of Bantry Bay when we were at high elevation.

The scenery is spectacular. It quickly changes from lush forest to rocky grasslands. Today the path traversed mostly high meadow sheep pastures. We encountered many sheep on the path. Some moved but others just watched us.

Bob had some medical issues recently. He shared with me that he would dream of doing this hike as he recovered. It means a great deal to me to be able to share this special adventure with him.

We completed over eighteen miles today. That included over 500 meters of elevation gain and loss. Pretty good for a couple of old geezers. We hiked from Glengarriff to Adrigole.

Well, departure day is here. Would really rather be going with Tina but, this will give her some quality time with her relatives.

Jim is an Uber driver so he will Uber Bob and I for our afternoon flight from Bradley. The direct flight to Dublin is really a great way to go. Since I have luggage for this trip I seem to be packing more stuff. Rain gear is taking more space as well as an extra pair of shoes. I need to save some space for the Irish sweater that I would like to bring back to Tina.

Made it to the flight and Bob and I are on our way.

Flight to Dublin was uneventful. Arrived in Dublin about 5:00 am local time. The bus to Cork leaves from the airport. The express bus is comfortable with few passengers. Good chance to get some sleep.

Ireland is rightly called the Emerald Isle. Everything is shades of green. The trip to Cork reminds me of Skagit Valley. Lush farmlands but no Cascade Mountains.

Had lunch in Cork waiting for the bus to Glengarriff.

Bus to Glengarriff is a local, lots of stops. Good looking green farmlands. Glengarriff is a picturesque small town.

Will crash tonight and get hiking in the morning.

This is a scene from behind our B+B.

I am not a hat guy. Like my father, l am not partial to wearing them. In the back reaches of my mind I believe they lead to premature baldness. But, I need to wear one on these long pilgrimages.

I like a particular style of baseball cap known as a “Dad” Hat. I like the way that the bill can be made to curl around the eyes and protect from afternoon sun. Mostly I like the look. If you Google it, you will note that a “Dad” Hat is supposed to be über preppy. Maybe that is why I like them. I am shying away from broad brimmed hiking hats, definitely a superior choice. I think they look like something an old guy would wear. But I am an Old Guy.

I was originally drawn to this style of hat by Andrew, a client and great guy. Andrew was the lead guy at an oil refinery I did a job at in my working days. I decided to have special hats made for my crew and the client. Andrew requested this style because it kept his head warm. And, I think they look pretty nifty. I have been wearing them since then.

The hat I am planning to take to Ireland is the same one that I used on the Camino Portuguese. The Washington Capitols cap. I was going to wear a “MAGA” hat but was advised against it. I my mind’s eye I could see pilgrims with pitch forks. So I chose the Capitals hat. I got it from Ted Leonsis himself.

So I will pack the Capitals hat.

Should I clean it first? A soiled cap denotes a hard working rugged guy. But, I will be having my luggage transferred from B+B to B+B in Ireland. Nothing rugged about that. I will clean it. Besides, Tina will not let me out of the house with a scroungy hat.

All the travel plans are coming together. Tickets are purchased, layout of the items to pack has begun, extra rain gear is purchased, new trail runners are procured, Euros are received and electric adapter is located.

Although departure is less than a week away, I feel that I have a lot of time. Not the case. I completed a prep hike of about fourteen miles and felt very good after. I believe that my stamina is OK. Time or trek will tell. Planning to do some short hikes and one long one before departure.

Experiencing a bit of dissonance. A lot going on here; I will miss Jim’s departure for his senior year at Penn State and I will miss Tina. Emma has departed back to Vietnam via England and has arrived safely. The dissonance may also be due to my facing an unknown adventure.

I will make a post prior to departure.

For some reason this has been a most difficult post to write. There has been so very much happening. The trip to Ireland is getting near. Emma has been visiting from Vietnam with her friend James. Prep for Ireland is starting in earnest.

Summer has delayed my usual early prep for long treks. Activities with Emma and James have been a fun diversion. Emma and James live and teach in Vietnam.

The largest diversion was painting the house. All were involved with the project. And, it has been completed. Son Jim who is doing an internship in State College, PA was left out of the project. However, he will get his chance to paint when he returns later this month. The trim is yet to be done.

James and I did segments of the Metacomet Trail during his time here. The last one was from Heublein parking lot to reservoir #6. We also climbed Heublein Tower for the magnificent view that includes New York and Massachusetts.

We dropped Emma and James off for their return trip to Vietnam on Saturday. They are first spending a couple days in NYC where they will be with some of Emma’s friends. Jim will also come to the City from PSU to go with James to a soccer game. Then Emma and James will travel to England for some time with James’ family.

It is just sinking in that Emma will be away for a year. We miss having her around. Jim will return from PSU later this week for a few weeks. Then he will return for his senior year. It is noticeably quieter here. This is a photo of us the evening before Emma and James left. The photo was taken before we set off fireworks left over from the fourth. One failed in a spectacular fashion nearly taking out part of the dock. It sounded like a cannon.

Starting to get ready for my next adventure. I will be hiking the Beara Penensula in Ireland with my one time neighbor, Bob Baker.

Bob is a retired attorney (I hesitate to say retired as he is very active in the community and with challenging the Northern Pass transmission line project). Bob divides his time between his mountain top place in New Hampshire and West Hartford.

Today Bob and I hiked about 11 miles along the Metacomet Trail in totally delightful weather.

I will be updating the blog site, replacing the Greek and Vietnam stuff with Irish.

I do not yet have a great many thoughts about the Beara trek. They will be added as time goes on.

One thought I had as I prepare for Ireland is advice my father’s stepfather gave me. Charlie, my father’s stepfather was a hard man, he was a sawyer and owned a small sawmill on lake Samamish in Washington. Charlie had been a teamster in the Klondike during the gold rush. Charlie was always hard on dad but he was always kind to my grandmother, Gertrude. Because of the kindness to his mother, dad was always deferential to Charlie and made his last days comfortable. This was long after Gertrude had passed. Well, Charlie’s only advise to me that I recall was, “Stay away from the Irish.” Had I heeded this admonition I would have had a very different and possibly better career. I will endeaver to understand wisdom as I trek the Beara Way.

We are nearing the end of our time in Santorini. Looking forward to getting home; however, there is a sadness about facing the end of the time here. Now I have to start thinking about my cataract surgery, arranging for wifi etc. having cut the cable when we left and getting a new clothes washer; ours failed the day before we left.On this trip we have seen some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet and we have seen some of the the most beautiful and celebrated works of art created by man. Recognizing that and having said that, I believe that the most memorable part of our time here has been the people. Seeing Jim in Rome was great as well as seeing Tina’s cousins in Kalamata. We had great tour guides. We had conversations with young professionals and students at all stops. All wait staff, hotel workers and cab drivers were talkative and fun.Got to the hotel about 1:00 am. Caught a few hours sleep and back to the airport. Through check in, security, immigration, a second security: whew! Bought passes for the lounge to relax a little before our flight.

Eight flights, two bus trips, and eight different hotels – do I get an award?

And away we go.

Well, we made it home. Back to Panera for breakfast.

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Caught the 7:00 am flight to Santorini from Athens. Short flight and packed with people.The first thing that strick me was the difference in architecture. Here the buildings are square flat roofed and painted white. The island appears to be much more densely built up than the Kalamata area. The scenery is spectacular.

It is interesting that the tap water is not drinkable here. In contrast the water in the small village of Pidima is potable and quite good. On this island I imagine that water is a premium commodity since there is a dense population and no obvious source of water. I believe that there is a desalinization plant here and that there is a supplemental supply from water being brought here by tanker ship. I understand that the desalinization plant uses reverse osmosis. I worked at a plant on St. Thomas, USVI, that used waste heat from the Power Plant in a distillation process. I believe power is supplied by some small gas turbines. Like St. Thomas, reliability is probably a big issue.

Lots of steps.Not too happy with the room we reserved. Changing to one with a private pool and deck. Good way to celebrate our 25th Anniversary.Great sunsets here.

A couple of side comments. Santorini is a magical place. The beauty is everywhere and spectacular. But, prices are high. Like NYC one needs to think of dollars as if they were quarters. We were chatting with a waiter about the relative prices between Kalamata and Santorini. His comment was that pricing here is much less than Mikonos. But, Mikonos is quite a party place. Probably like spring break in Florida. Probably not for old guys like me.

My other side comment: I am enjoying the book I brought, the Calvin book. Slow read and I understand at most ten percent but, my friend Charles’s style is such that it brings back memories of him. It is the right read for me at this time.

Got a different room at the hotel – spectacular:

Tipping: yes I understand that tipping is not the thing to do in Europe. The only place where they are pushy about tips is here in Santorini. In other places we have visited on this trip, tips have not been mentioned. Even so, if it’s a young person I will generally leave something to their delight or their steadfast refusal. I guess I have a character flaw because I generally will not tip the pushy guys here.

Lots of Brides here. I can certainly understand why there are so many Brides having photos taken here in Santorini, it is indescribably beautiful. However, they seem to risk death and permanent injury. Just walking the narrow steep steps in high heels and full gowns risks having to spend the honeymoon in a cast. One wrong step on one of the precarious perches they ascend could make for a very short wedded life.

Sunday morning and we are experiencing high winds. I believe that the wind is magnified by the fact that we are near the crest of a very steep part of the caldera. We were thinking about renting a car and exploring today. I don’t think that would be a good thing to do today as the weather is so very ugly. Hope there are no brides taking pictures today. Also hope we do not have flight problems tomorrow as the wind is supposed to continue. Noticed that a cruise ship sailed into and out of the harbor. It certainly would not be fun to visit today; I doubt that the tenders could ferry people to the dock.

Finally got some sun and got a picture of Tina and me.

We took a bus to the little town at the end of the island, Oia. Twisting road along a high bluff, minimal guard rails. Tina hates these types of roads but seems to find them often.